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Monday, October 26, 2009

Today at football was possibly my worst showing ever. I didn't even score 1 goal, not even while practising against my team. Plus while playing against the opposing team, I was mis-controlling, missing goals plus caused about 2 or 3 goals on my team by losing the ball at bad spots... This should be all about fun but darn man, I need to do something about my fitness and about my recent skill down.... WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME??? Am I getting too old??? Or am I too relaxed or what???

Funerals a growth undertaking

Death is a growth industry in Japan and everyone from railways to retailers wants a slice.

The ¥1.8 trillion funeral industry is expanding as Japan's population ages faster than any other nation. The number of people who die each year in the country will rise to 1.66 million in 2040, from about 1.14 million last year, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.

As Japan emerges from its

worst postwar recession, undertakers like San Holdings Inc., Tear Corp. and retailer Aeon Co. are taking advantage of the growth with cheaper funerals, snatching market share from the "mom-and-pop" parlors that dominate the industry.

"There aren't many businesses where you're guaranteed a growing market and increasing demand," said NorihisaTomiyasu, founder and president of Tear Corp., a publicly listed funeral home operator.

Tear's sales have risen for eight straight years, boosting revenue almost sixfold to ¥5.9 billion in the year that ended in September 2008. The Nagoya-based company tied up with Osaka-based Nankai Electric Railway Co., a construction company and gas-station operator, to franchise its brand through funeral halls built on the partners' land.

Aeon, the nation's second-largest retailer, began offering funeral services last month in a tieup with 400 undertakers, to cut costs by at least 40 percent by buying funeral-related items in bulk.